"Learning and dealing with my Anxiety and panic attacks."

After living with Anxiety and panic attacks for over 15 years I decided it was time to try and get my problems sorted as Anxiety was stopping me from living the life I should of been living.

My Anxiety or the fear of getting anxious or becoming ill due to stress has stopped me from going on holidays, concerts, weekends away, and even stopped me from taking a promotion in work. All of these things I avoided as I didn't want to put myself in a situation which could possibly make me more Anxious, feel terrible, panic, or embarrass myself as in the past doing these things have gave me bad Anxious experiences so avoidance has been a big part of my life. But even my every day life was not great either, suffering with Anxiety days, weeks, months at a time fearing something bad was happening to me.

I got referred to Therapy by my GP which to be honest I wasn't really sure I wanted to do as I was a MASSIVE sceptic on therapy and have always thought therapy was a load of nonsense. You know! ! "How can talking to someone you don't know help you feel better"? I WAS WRONG.

I decided to give it a go with an open mind and the eagerness to learn and I met Laura my therapist for the first time. I had this impression that it would be a slightly strict encounter where it was be 'Therapist - Patient - Talk - Therapy over for today' but it was a lot more than that.

Laura was lovely from the word go. She was friendly, funny, genuine, caring, a model professional and a very clever and knowledgeable woman with the ability to make me feel relaxed and confident to explain my problems. She was also excellent in explaining and teaching me what what happening to me and why it was happening to me and how to deal with my problems in a way which I could understand easily and learn comfortably.

Even after just a couple of sessions I felt that Laura understood me, understood my problems and made me realise that my Anxiety didn't have to be this big problem in my life and most importantly 'I was normal', 'I wasn't the only one', and 'I wasn't losing my mind'. That in itself was a massive help and a confidence boost to myself.

Therapy for me was never a chore and the longer it went on the happier I was becoming. I definitely recommend this service to anybody with life struggles, it will definitely help you out.

Thank you Laura for helping me. It's much appreciated and I wish you all the very best for the future. Take care.